Review

The wait is finally over, and man was it a long one. American girl-group Fifth Harmony, the act that has stood out undoubtedly from the rest on the now-defunct X-Factor USA, has finally released their debut album Reflection after its original release date of November 2014 was pushed back five times. With their solid debut mainstream release with their 2013 EP Better Together, it created the numerous hype and anticipation for Reflection: along with the release of two hit singles in "Bo$$" and 5H's first Top-40 hit in the '80s pop-influenced "Sledgehammer". To the immense delight of Harmonizers, it is finally here. With its numerous delays finally out of the way, was it really worth the year-plus wait for their debut studio album" It was worth it, but it also wasn't in a way too.

During the creation of Reflection, the group consisting of members Lauren Jauregui, Dinah Jane Hansen, Ally Brooke-Hernandez, Normani Kordei, and Camila Cabello discussed to numerous media outlets that they were aiming for a more 'mature, urban' sound than the bubble-gum pop that was on Better Together. It certainly is evident in the album, with songs like the R&B-oriented ballad "We Know" with its somber, romantic-like piano melody showcasing how far the girls have come in terms of maturity and breaking away from the generic 'teen-pop' stereotype that looked to be the case in the beginning. Their vocals shine undoubtedly with the solid beats in Reflection, being displayed in its best on songs like the EDM-pop anthem "This Is How We Roll" and the bonus track "Going Nowhere" with their sass, distinction and chemistry. This album is certainly built for the summer, with its summer vibes prominent in most of the music. Each member of the group bring in their own unique voice and style to the table on Reflection, making the tracks refreshing and enjoyable to listen to. They definitely sound like they're having fun with their strong bond between the five, and that couldn't be more vital to a success for any group/band that is in the industry today. When the girls unify as one on the hooks of their material on Reflection, its certainly one to behold because of just how strong and powerful they are vocally.

With that said, while Reflection does succeed with the group's stellar vocals and the solid beats: it does have some glaring issues to take note to. The major issue that deals some pretty prevalent blows to Reflection is the production. It's not the matter of the beats because they're pretty solid, aside from a couple repetitive tracks like the social media-oriented "Them Girls Be Like" or the girl-empowerment anthem "Brave, Honest, Beautiful" featuring Meghan Trainor that feel more like 'album filler' than actually fitting the premise of the album. The lyricism in both tracks also are pretty corny and therefore annoying, with a prime example in the hook of the Meghan Trainor-featured track with Camila name-dropping female artists who have been influential to women. The major issue that hurts the debut album is in the mixing, because man is it bad. It's nothing short of amateurish and disappointing especially for such a major release. It's either that the vocals were badly Auto-Tuned (the Mariah Carey-sampled "Like Mariah"), so obvious it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know it is, the girls' vocals are a bit too quiet (i.e "Going Nowhere" in the build-up to the hook) or that the girls' vocals overpower the beat (i.e "Brave, Honest, Beautiful"). It's not the case in a few tracks, but it's unfortunately limited here. It ends up creating this sort of inconsistency that you shouldn't see on any kind of album, especially on the mixing/engineering side. It doesn't end there however.

Reflection featured a limited selection of collaborations, with three mainstream artists supporting 5H in three of the fourteen tracks on the album. Two of the more surprising collaborations came from rappers who are considered to be quite relevant in the rap game today, Southern rapper Tyga and rising rapper Kid Ink. Not surprisingly, all three features fell short of expectations. The greatest injustice of them all is in the Tyga-featured "Like Mariah", with Tyga trying to cleanly rap in his sole verse. After hearing that disaster of a verse, it merely solidifies that the friend of Chris Brown cannot rap at all without the need of explicit lyrics in abundance, the only reason why Tyga is even relevant in the first place. Meghan Trainor and up-and-coming rapper Kid Ink's features weren't as impressive either, making these collaborations un-needed for this group and that they're much better off without it.

Reflection is certainly better than Fifth Harmony's last outing, they've definitely grown up and it shows both in their sound and vocals. Songs like the Ashanti-influenced "Everlasting Love" display just good the girl group can be, with strong chemistry and distinction. It's definitely a fun record to listen to. However, the album is highly barred by the less-than-impressive guest collabos, some of the worst production in terms of mixing I've heard in a record in quite some time, and a few tracks that feel like 'album fodder' rather than truly fitting in on Reflection. It's such a shame considering how Reflection was produced by multi-platinum producer Julian Brunetta, because you shouldn't expect this, especially at such a professional level like Brunetta is in. That alone is why Reflection doesn't overstep their debut EP, because these flaws were pretty significantly bad enough to degrade this album. With these flaws aside, the former X-Factor USA act certainly has a bright future in the industry. There is no doubt about that. However, they gotta ditch guest features for the future, avoid putting out un-needed tracks, and get better producers to mix: only then will their future material go to the next level.

It's a bit longer I do agree everyone, but this was done purposely because I felt like it needed to be the case. With that said, I WASN'T BIASED AT ALL during this review FYI. I was frankly disappointed that I gave it this rating, but it deserved it nonetheless. Just because I'm a fan of these girls doesn't mean squat when I review them. That's all put aside, since I have to be unbiased during my reviews.

LMK your thoughts on this and feedback and criticism is much appreciated folks. Hit me up with whatever you got, hate or otherwise.

@Artuma: Haha I know right? Last three have been the case comment-wise and voting-wise. I don't mind it tho, I honestly wanted to write this and I don't care if ppl here hate it or not. At least it isn't some biased review like for a Bieber album or something, I was really close to giving this a 2.5 actually. The beats tho for the most part as well as the songs were pretty solid that it got a 3, its just the horrific mixing, some of these filler tracks and the lame collaborations that hurt this one. Just because I'm a huge fan of them, which I do admit, it doesn't mean anything when I write this review. I'll rip if its needed, it just doesn't matter.

I'm gonna be writing more hip-hop during the month, not so much Top 40/Pop material. Gonna do a piece on Joey Bada$$' B4.DA.A$$, Lupe's Tetsuo & Youth and Logic's debut Def Jam release Under Pressure in the month ahead. Might even do a piece on jazz artist Kenny G's new release Brazilian Nights too. It sucks how horribly biased ppl are here towards pop, I've been writing a ton of them to counter that and because this site needs it. Gonna also apply for contributor too if the site is gonna do it.

@treeqt.: I definitely agree with the title track, it's not over-produced or anything like that, and the vocals are on-point. Definitely the shining moment in it is when the girls unite for the hook vocally, it is one to behold. Unfortunately you don't see much of that in the album, most of these hooks on the 14-track LP are Camila-oriented. That is also a big issue that has to be addressed in which I should've stated in the review, its like what you're seeing with 1D and all these other groups. It has to be diversified amongst the five, otherwise you're gonna get another *NSYNC: a group who had unlimited potential but was too centered on one specific person. I dig "This Is How We Roll" minus the lame-ass bass drop, "Going Nowhere" and especially "Everlasting Love" off the album minus the three singles that dropped prior to the release.

@Cygnatti: Just out of curiosity, what turned you off specifically in this album? Same issues as I discussed, or something different? I'm honestly surprised at how well-received this album is right now getting, Rolling Stone gave it a 3.5/5 and Billboard lauded this so that's pretty shocking. I think it is overstepping it a little bit though, its a great album but I wouldn't propel it to such great heights like what I've seen so far from other critics and publications.

@Cyngatti: Haha and was it awful. The repetition in Bo$$ is pretty pathetic honestly, and the lyrical content was garbage in it too. "Like Mariah" has been getting a ton of praise recently, but I can't understand it. It isn't that great, and Tyga's verse as I stated in the review is a complete disaster. This technically was an album directed towards women empowerment, which it seems to convey alright.

If the production was more polished and the features weren't on the album, I'd give it a 4/5 most likely. Still surprised at how well-received this LP is getting right now, I expected honestly mediocre to decent reception at best. And yeah the final deluxe track was a bonus, I personally despised the hook and the Trainor feature sucked but that was it.